A solar cell produces 20 watts of electricity

"At the first glance, it is surprising that an insulating plastic material can be used to enhance the efficiency of a polymer solar cell, because generally it makes the device worse," Huang says. "Our innovation lies in utilizing the large permanent electrical polarization of a ferroelectric polymer to increase a solar cell's internal electric field, thus generating more electricity."We designed a unique device structure so that these insulating layers facilitate the generation of more electric currents instead of less," he adds.There are affordable kitchen knives that perform just as well as their more expensive counterparts.Shun kitchen accessories, the gem of culinary implements are produced by keeping with the proud Japanese tradition of sword making. "Also, this method won't add any cost to the polymer solar cells."His work demonstrating this idea appeared in a recent issue of the scientific journal Nature Materials. Currently, the energy conversion efficiencyof silicon semiconductors is around 20 percent, meaning, for every 100 watts of sun energy, a solar cell produces 20 watts of electricity. For ferroelectric polymers to become commercially viable to compete with silicon solar cells, "we need to get the energy conversion efficiency up to 15 or 20 percent," Huang says. "We are at about 8-9 percent now, which is already very good, considering the amount of cost reduction."Huang is conducting his research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2012. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization. NSF is funding his work with $400,000 over five years. The award also supports educational outreach. As part of this, Huang is preparing a workshop for Nebraska's high school students to teach them about solar engineering, and to promote engineering as a career choice. Also,aluminum beam he is helping produce demonstrations about solar energy and engineering at the University of Nebraska State Museum.To be sure, "solar energy is nothing new," Huang says. "We have all these products on the market, but we can't use them as broadly as possible because they are still too expensive. The products are too expensive because of the materials they use. The sun is free, but to harness its energy is not free. Our goal is to produce a material that is both affordable and efficient, as well as flexible to use, so that you could put it on the surface of a device,knife manufacturer paint buildings with it--or actually even wear it."